#metask

[mmm-eta]

Seeing you post about Viktor’s voiceover work just made me think of a funny idea. Imagine an AU where Viktor has a twin brother, but he’s much more strict, haughty, and prefers to only speak in the language of “the old country” when in conversation.

I thought about it while drawing too! and I believe most of his conversations with others would be like

rus Viktor: Just ingeniously tho Bolbok: Why do you speak Russian? rus Viktor: Maybe because I'm Russian? It's so unexpected and unobvious Bolbok: I don't understand rus Viktor: Go fuck yourself then, I understand you perfectly

orig (legendary Russian meme)

also thank you everyone for making it clear that eng Viktor's accent is meant to be Czech! I do pictures with him in Russian because I'm Russian, not because I think he is. I hope I'm not confusing people.

and thank you anon for your funny idea! 💋

[linkspooky]

Love your JJK metas - apologies if I missed it, but any thoughts on Gojo feeling that he was "left behind" and has to "catch up" to Geto before slaughtering the higher ups?

I don't think the impact Shibuya had on him was really explicitly explored, except for that one panel where he said it was his responsibility, but him internally seeing it as following Geto's path in a way surprised me - it makes sense to me, but it doesn't at the same time.

This is a question I really wanted to answer, but delayed for a long time because I wanted to think it over. When the exhibition changed and Gege released his original draft for this scene, it helped clarify a lot of my thoughts on this scene.

"If you want to kill me, kill me. I wouldn’t mind if it were by your hand. But make sure mine is the only life you take.”

These lines become more meaningful if you think of them in the context of earlier events in Hidden Inventory. It sheds light on a lot of scenes from the flashback arc.

In particular this scene.

In his post-enlightenment high Gojo could kill the entirety of the Star Plasma Cult and feel nothing about it to punish them for Riko's death, but he lives the ultimate decision up to Geto.

In that moment Geto convinces him that killing these bystanders would be pointless, because society has other methods for punishing the members of this cult. Specifically he tells Gojo that it's not their job as Jujutsu Sorcerers to punish these people. He basically confines Gojo to the morality of a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Sorcerers kill curse users yes, but they never use their curse techniques on other people like the members in the crowd who don't fight back. Jujutusu Sorcerers aren't a part of the japanese justice system, they exist for one job and that is to deal with curses and curse users in order to prevent them from hurting normal people.

So Geto's lpong explanation to Gojo to talk him down from slaughtering the crowd that's applauding for Riko's death amounts to "That's not our job." He also emphasizes how killing these people wouldn't accomplish anything, because the group was going to disband anyway, and these are just rank and file believers the leaders of the cult are already gone. So in total two reasons, 1) it's not our job, 2) this murder wouldn't accomplish anything.

In the KFC breakup, Gojo parrots Geto's own arguments about killing right back at him. Notice that when they're having their argument Gojo never brings up the fact that killing is wrong, but that killing non-sorcerers is pointless because the sheer amount of number of people you would have to kill is so enormous it's impossible.

Geto's methods are wrong not because they're immoral but because they're impractical. It's not whether or not killing is right or wrong. It's meaningles killing vs. killing with a purpose. Geto's goal is completely impossible for him to accomplish, so all the people he killed in name of that goal died for no reason.

Gojo and Geto are specifically arguing about methods, not morality. Gojo is especially troubled because he's trying to appeal to Geto using the morality that Geto taught him, obligation as a sorcerer, justice, killing with purpose, but now it's all falling on Geto's deaf ears. I think it's poignant Gojo at this stage in his life can't really form a moral argument of his own just repeat Geto's words back at him, it shows how much Gojo was using Geto as a guidepoint.

Gege even says in the databook the reason Gojo stopped himself from killing the cult is that he was using Geto's moral reasoning and not his own.

So in a way, it's Geto's words that prevented Gojo from being a monster all the way back in Hidden Iventnory. Yet, we see in premature death Gojo's completely unable to talk Geto down from the ledge he was standing on.

Even though the words he's using are Geto's words. Perhaps, because the words he's using are Geto's words. Gojo's faith in Geto as a partner and a moral guidepost was so unshakable he's not capable of reconciling with the fact that the person standing in front of him right now slaughtered a whole village.

Geto leaves, and Gojo lacks the words to make him stay. However, in spite of the fact that this scene is called the KFC breakup this, Geto and Gojo aren't ending their relationship. In Jujutsu Kaisen Zero, Geto is surprised by the fact that Gojo still trusts him and feels the same way years later. In Gojo's dying dream, he states that he would have been satisfied losing to Sukuna if Geto was there to wish him good luck before he left. The Geto he pictures is the one in his Gojo-Gesa, the corrupted adult Geto, and not the one he used in childhood.

This is also after Geto expresses jealousy that Gojo wanted to provide a challenge to Sukuna and force him to go all out, because Gojo understood Sukuna's isolation from being the strongest. Because Geto and Gojo's relationship began from the fact that Geto was the only other special grade in their year and therefore the only one able to understand Gojo by being just as strong as he was. Only for Gojo to immediately say that he wasn't satisfied going all out against Sukuna, because Geto wasn't there. It wasn't Geto's power he needed, but his presence.

Geto wasn't leaving Gojo. He was leaving Jujutsu Society. However, since Gojo is such an integral part of Jujutsu Society, it's essentially the same thing. They're not breaking apart because their no longer friends, but because their morals are so different. Even if his attempts at reform wasn't so radical as killing all human beings, Gojo still wouldn't be able to leave with Geto because without Jujutsu Society there is no Gojo Satoru.

Gojo doesn't believe that massacring half the world is possible, but in a way he probably wouldn't believe even a less extreme reform is impossible as long as it was accomplished from the outside. Gojo has always been an internal reformist while at the same time being a radical. Gojo stated this early on he can just kill the people on top but that would make him a monster.

Remember what I emphasized above, Geto convinced Gojo not to slaughter the members of the Star Cult because it's not a Jujutsu Sorcerer's job to punish people like that. If he crossed that line he'd no longer be a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Gojo not only lives to be a sorcerer, but the time in his youth when he was with Geto was the only time he ever felt understood and that there was someone he could rely on.

Geto crossed that line and when he killed the people of Nanako and Mimiko's village (the way that Geto wanted to kill Riko's murderers that day), he was no longer acting as a sorcerer. Geto stopped being a sorcerer, but Gojo couldn't follow him because Gojo lives to be a sorcerer.

Gojo's plan is therefore create sorcerers strong enough that they can support each other the way that him and Geto should have. Create strong allies so that in the next generation no-one will be left behind.

Gojo's belief is that what he needed was stronger allies, not a systemic issue. When his attempts at reform fail, and he wakes up to see that all of his students have had execution orders placed on them by the higher ups he finally gives up on the notion of internal reform.

Gojo eventually ended up committing a mass slaughter for his perceived greater good. The same kind of mass slaughter that Geto prevented him from doing that day he avenged Riko's death. By doing that, he stopped being a sorcerer.

Now that we've finally come full circle I'm going to explain what I think Gojo means by "I can't do that. That day I was left behind, so I have to catch up."

The most direct interpretation is that Gojo is echoing Yuta's sentiment. Geto became a monster all on his own and left Gojo behind. Now, years after the fact Gojo is realizing that Geto's violent action was necessary and he's essentially leaving his role as a sorcerer to become more like Gojo. He's finally understood why Geto did what he did, years after the fact, and far too late.

In one sense Gojo is becoming Geto in this scene. In another sense, he's recalling how he felt years before when he watched Geto walk away. Geto is the one who kept Gojo from being a monster and kept him on the path of being a sorcerer, only for Geto to go off that path himself. Not only that though, but in their final conversation, Geto made sure to still try to keep Gojo on that path.

Remember this line from the original draft:

"If you want to kill me, kill me. I wouldn’t mind if it were by your hand. But make sure mine is the only life you take.”

This line is essentially the same as this, but look at the paneling.

Gojo is about to unleash a hollow purple on Geto, but when Geto disappears into the crowd of people he stops. In order to kill Geto, he would have had to kill several innocent people in the crowd so Gojo hesitates.

The original draft lines indicate that Geto did this on purpose. He told Gojo to be sure only to kill him and not kill anyone else because he still wants Gojo to remain a sorcerer. Geto was resolved to become a monster on his own and didn't want to drag Gojo down with him.

Geto is leaving and he doesn't want Gojo to become with, because Gojo is the happiest when he's a sorcerer.

In the Hidden Inventory Gojo is playing the role of Yuta, begging Geto not to become a monster alone only to be left behind. In the future Gojo resolves to become a monster like Geto. Even though he's finally trying to understand his friend, he's a year too late. Geto is dead and he can't catch up now.

[markheuss]

Concrete shade ami. Marktredwitz 2018.

Lines, cement belly & a shadow + a deck to mess up the algorithm.

[mmm-eta]

I saw your art and love it so much! Especially your pieces with Sky and Viktor. What do you think about them? There's so little work for them, and poor Sky deserves some love from him. 🥺❤️

aww thank you thank you! 🥹❤️ and good question! My brainrot lately was Sky developing crush on Viktor.. I think it didn't happen right away.

I love thinking of Viktor calling Mrs Young by her name as an evidence of them being at least not-close-friends :)

So! Just like in the series, SkyVik is the only romantic (far-from-romantic actually) pair I see Viktor in. I love them in their miserable state of unrequited affection, self-consciousness and closeness (& fast bad end), and don't want to make it any further myself.

And of course Sky deserves some love. In my humble opinion she deserves the whole world, but love can't be forced. Viktor himself cut any more of not even it, but simple human connection, in “Good night, Mrs. Young” scene.

Honestly, I don't think Viktor would agree to engage in a relationship at all considering his mental and physical state. Let's say I respect things laying the way they are. and Viktor's feelings. or choice.

[mmm-eta]

If you couldn't tell by two different reblogs with tags, I love your megamind art and I'm going insane over it. You have blessed my timeline and also the world

aww thank you so so much!!! I'm very glad to 🤲💙

it's always so nice to discover new awesome foureyes cartoons you know

[mmm-eta]

Welcome!

I post art only and don't reblog. But I love leaving comments!

tags I use:

[mmm-eta]

My dumb eyes misread the Venus symbol in your bio for "9" and I immediately went like... Why is this 9 year old so good at art, and is it safe for them to be so publically horny for Viktor

damn you outed me 😔 I really am 4th grader...

thanks! I don't think it's safe for one to be horny for Viktor at all nowadays, though

[mmm-eta]

I’m so interested in viktors Russian voice actually!! I know a little Russian, but don’t practice or hear it frequently enough to be able to detect tones as sharply as I can in English. Is there anything else you’ve noticed about the specific language he uses or how his inflection might even change his personality?

Im so very glad when someone is interested in Russian language 🥹 thank you for the question!

What I can say as a native: his language isn't specific (translate repeats original literally. in a good way) but the intonations are!

Russian language isn't very rapid itself but rus Viktor is speaking even more deliberately, breathy and very clearly. Here I see (considering the need to keep up with the timings) VA's attempt to show his intelligence (and belonging to the Academy) and equanimity but in my opinion he overdid it making him arrogant. That's the tone of a teacher making you a complain :) so it really suits in the first scene with Jayce but not the rest of the series..

Eng Viktor is more restrained?? voice very well shows his self-conscious character. While the whole rus Viktor is perceived as pompous especially in compare with the eng one.

All in all, rus Viktor seems different because depth and pretentious tone replace eng's accent and tenderness.

Personally, in addition to all said above, I would make him a bit faster and inaudible — it would be good to show him speaking ordinary. He comes from the Undercity but here sounds like he grew up among high society or is trying very hard to imitate them, which makes even new senses…

(if you want to listen and compare the tone and speed of voices of the other characters in Russian, you can check kadikama dot com. I watched arcane there)

I hope I answered your question! good luck learning Russian with Viktor 💋💋💋

[mmm-eta]

Would you mind if I wrote a fic inspired by your Meljay art? With credit ofc.

aww I wouldn't! It'd be my pleasure to read it ☺️

[mmm-eta]

Curious, do you use vectors to draw or regular art?

regular art! I use only the straight line tool when I need a reeeally long one:

I've got so used to this style I need to make efforts to draw NOT clear angular lines hahaa also here's funny scale I made with my old works:

made a full circle here :") in any way – practice, practice, practice. thank you for the question! 💋

[linkspooky]

Hello, good afternoon. How are you? I would like to say that I find your analyses extremely cohesive and that you are one of the few I have seen so far who can analyze the work of Jujutsu Kaisen beyond the surface. The question I would like to ask is, what does death represent for JJK? What is its function within the manga and also what is the function of the way it is treated in the work through the fatalities that occur in the plot and with its characters? I haven't read all of your analyses, so forgive me if you have already talked about this subject before. If you see it, I appreciate your attention, and if you can't answer, I apologize for the inconvenience.

So I think at it's core Jujutsu Kaisen is a very existentialist manga. The central question that the literal main character is trying to answer himself is how can life possibly have meaning, if it always ends in death? For the first half of the manga, the fight between the main character and his villainous foil have completely opposite answers to that question. Yuji is continually searching for meaning in death, because it HAS to mean something otherwise how does life have meaning if it always ends in death? Whereas, Mahito believes that because life always ends in death it has no meaning.

I don't think one is necessarily right over the other, it's just conflicting philosophies. Yuji believes life has to have inherit meaning, and Mahito believes life has no inherent meaning. More under the cut.

Death is a Mirror

So, I believe the entire concept of Death in Jujutsu Kaisen can just be summarized as the panel I posted above. Of course I'm going to elaborate on that, but basically Death is a mirror. Humans try to find meaning out of the short life they have, because life always ends in death.

The philosopher Camus was quoted as saying once:

“There is only one really serious philosophical problem,” Camus says, “and that is suicide. Deciding whether or not life is worth living is to answer the fundamental question in philosophy. All other questions follow from that” (MS, 3). 

All philosophy is therefore, an attempt to justify whether or not life is worth living. Why are we alive? As I said above, Yuji cannot accept that life always ends in death so he tries to search for meaning in death. His grandfather's curse (telling him to save people so he can die surrounded by people) and his concept of a "meaningful" death for the first half of the manga is Yuji debating with this philosophical concept.

Yuji is introduced to the danger of the world when he is thrown into the world of sorcery. Much like Geto, he has heroic notions of being a sorcerer which are challenged when he realizes both how easily people can die, but how easily his fellow sorcerers can die as well.

This is the philosophical question that essentially broke Geto's brain. What is the meaning of young sorcerers like himself fighting and dying for an uncaring public, especially since the cycle will never be broken and sorcerers are basically sentenced to a life of continually exercising curses until they meet an early death. Then the next generation of sorcerers just continue the vicious cycle.

For Geto, death ends up negating all meaning to life. When he realizes that there's basically no meaning to the lives of sorcerers who constantly throw their lives away, he becomes completely unable to enjoy life. He accepts death at the hands of Gojo, because he couldn't continue living in the world, couldn't smile in the world with the way it was.

 In some ways, Geto and Yuuta were the same. Geto was too sincere. To someone like him, the reality that the world of sorcerers presented to him was just too cruel. '...that in a world like this, I couldn't be truly happy from the bottom of my heart.' To live for the purpose of being yourself. And for that goal, Geto could only continue to pursue his twisted dream, drowning himself in the curse that lies in the gap between ideal and reality.\ This was the final confession of a man who could only choose to warp himself, who had erased himself in pursuit of his goals. The only person who could bear such a curse was Gojo Satoru.

On the other hand Geto loses to Rika and Yuta who's love for each other is able to persist after death. In fact, Yuta's entire arc is starting out cursing Rika because he was too afraid to lose her, but when he accepts that Rika's love can persist with him after death he's able to move on and make new friends.

Of course Yuta proceeds to just be parasitically codependent with his new friends,. but that's just how Yuta is as a person. He's a funny little freak.

Even until the very end, Rika loved Yuuta deeply. It's like loving someone like the other half of your soul, like willingly giving up your life for their sake. It's the true, honest hope that no matter where they may go, there will always be good fortune waiting for them. What happened to Rika is perhaps not so strange after all. 'Death' is a conclusion that falls upon everyone equally. But Rika found someone she loved and remained by his side. All this time - until this very day - she was always by his side. Maki, Panda, Inumaki - it's all the same. Even Gojo will have a day where he dies. Yuuta will die too, one day. But there's no need to hasten it's arrival. He should smile more, explore the world more, see even more new things. That's what Rika hoped for, deep in her heart. Because the end will surely come one day, and after that rightful death - we will definitely meet again. And after that, we will always be together. It won't be too late to make good on our agreement then. So please, before that happens to you - before that happens to the one I love - live blessed by happiness.

So, Geto and Yuta are ideological opposites. Geto can't love the world where so many of his comrades and fellow sorcerers die, and Yuta is able to continue loving the world in spite of death.

When Yuta and Yuji are protagonists of their works they face the same question but with different flavors. Yuta tries to find meaning for life in love, and Yuji tries to find meaning in life by searching for a "role" to play. He states pretty clearly early on he wants to do something thyat no one else could, which is why he accepts his role as Sukuna's vessel. If he helps a lot of people, it doesn't matter to him, if he's executed in the end. If he's able to help as many people as possible.

Of course Mahito challenges this notion of Yuji's. Early on Yuji says that he feels like life will be worth less, if he has to kill people. Then Mahito presents Yuji with people he cannot save, who it would be a mercy to kill because they are living in pain. Before finally being shown that all of his efforts to save Junpei completely failed.

If he can't help Junpei in the end, then for Yuji what was the point of meeting him? What was the point of Yuji trying to sympathize with him, if he failed and Junpei dies such a gratuitous death.

I think Junpei is one of the standout deaths in Jujutsu Kaisen, because in spite of the fact we know him so briefly his permanent impact on Yuji lingers. He's the part of a pattern where every time Yuji tries to play hero and protect life he utterly fails. He's confronted over and over again with what are "meaningless deaths" in his own words.

Until Todo literally spells it out for him. That if he tries to keep searching for meaning in death, he's going to go insane. He was in danger of walking down the exact road that Geto was.

So, Yuji is nearly broken by the meaningless deaths of Nanami, Nobara and the thousands slaughtered in Shibuya in succession, and Todo's advice is basically that if you keep staring at all of the death in front of you it's not going to help at all, you're just going to drive yourself crazy.

Yuji is trying to use Nanami's death as an excuse to give up searching for meaning. If death is the end result of life, then for a moment Yuji thinks it's no longer worth living. He even tells himself to die after the massacre at Shibuya.

Then, there is Mahito who fully believes that because everything dies life is equally worthless. Since there is no meaning you are entitled to do whatever you want, because all life is just competing with each other.

Full rules of the jungle logic. Why does the deer have more right to life than the wolf, when they're both competing for survival? The wolf eats deer not because it's evil, but because it's what it does.

Mahito clearly sees himself as the wolf and humans as the prey. He doesn't need to think about the reasons why he kills humans, that's what curses do, the same way that wolves eat deer. It's just natural instinct. A wolf doesn't ponder the meaning of life. It just eats to fill it's stomach.

Mahito is trying to disprove the notion to Yuji that life has meaning or there's a greater meaning behind his actions. Which is what his speech is about, you save people without thinking and I kill people without thinking. There's no meaning for our actions, Curse and Humans are just different species that are trying to wipe each other out for survival.

What's interesting about them and why Mahito is the true mirror to Yuji, is that after their confrontation, their philosophies completely flip. Yuji decides to accept Mahito's words that there's no meaning to life. He won't search for meaning in death anymore, he'll just play his role. Sorcerers kill curses because that's their job, he's just another part of the food chain too.

In that instant Yuji becomes the wolf and Mahito the rabbit. Mahito also flips his ideals. If he were a true believer in the right of the strongest, then he would have just accepted his death when Yuji was stronger. Jogo did. He even said it doesn't need to be him in the world of curses as long as the world he wants is brought about.

Jogo knows they'll just be reborn anyway, even if they wont' be the same but he can accept that. That's the nature of a curse. However, Mahito who's name literally means "true human" and is the most humanlike of the curses wants to retain his individuality.

Yuji rejects his individuality to become a cog. Mahito runs away to try to preserve his life and his individuality instead of just accepting death and reincarnating and he ends up being turned into a tool by Kenjaku. It's a fun reversal, because as I said above death is a mirror.

In fact Mahito comes full circle in the last piece of dialogue in the entire series to show that even Sukuna was able to accept death as a part of life in the end, and accept that maybe he can change in the next life. Mahito who is paralyzed by his fear of death and believes that death negates meaning however, is the only one who remains eternally stunted as a child.

[linkspooky]

Hi I really love ur metas your jjk ones really made me appreciate the story even more. I was curious about ur analysis on why Gojo is important to Geto.

It's obvious as to why Geto is important to Gojo and how Geto effected him but I don't think it's talked about enough of the reversal

That's a good observation anon, the story makes it less obvious what Geto needs Gojo for, while spending a long time lingering on the tragedy of Geto's loss and what the loss of his only real friend meant for Gojo.

I think part of this is because Geto is a character of deep self-reflection so a lot of his internal narration is about his feelings towards his self and thinking through his own ideals and what that means. Whereas Gojo doesn't really self reflect but he does observe other people. We don't know what Gojo's opinions on a lot of things are, but we know what Geto meant to him because he's much clearer on how he felt towards Geto. Geto's staring into himself trying to figure what he feels personally, Gojo is always staring at other people trying to figure out what they feel.

As for why Gojo means so much to Geto, it's important to remember that they are a duo. They're the same idiot in different fonts. Geto's a much more human character and we are inside his head more often so it's easy to forget that when they were young Geto had the same kind of god / superiority complex that Gojo did.

Geto is associated with religious imagery over and over again, the same way that Gojo is associated with budhist ideals of enlightenment and escaping karma. They are both people who were in their teenage years more powerful than everyone around them, and because of that looked down on everyone.

Even Geto's stated ideals of "protecting the weak" come from a place of superiority. He still divides people mentally into the weak and the strong. The special ones and the common rabble. He sees people the same way Gojo does, he just believes that the strong like him and Gojo have a moral obligation to use their powers responsibly in service of others.

Geto's not more humble than Gojo. Their moral disagreement comes from how they should use the power they've been given, but they both feel that the power they have puts them in a position above other people.

All of this to illustrate the fact that if Gojo felt isolated as a teenager because all the power he had made him feel lonely and unable to connect with others, then so Geto probably felt isolated in the same way too. They each found in each other someone they could finally call their equal. Because of it they gained someone they could be vulnerable around and someone they could trust to watch their back.

The things Geto does for Gojo (check on his feelings when no one else would, go out of his way to reassure him), Gojo does for Geto in return. It's not Geto always taking care of Goo it's a partnership between the two of them where they lean on each other.

When Kuroi is kindapped and Geto immediately falls into a funk and starts to blame himself for his mistake, it's Gojo who reassures him by hurrying him along and telling him they need to focus on planning what they should do next. Gojo knows Geto well enough to know his tendency to get trapped in his own thoughts and gives him the kick in the pants he needs.

In the same scene where Geto checks on Gojo's well-being to make sure he's not overusing his power, Gojo returns the sentiment by reassuring Geto not to worry about him because he won't push himself too hard and that he's not in this alone Geto's here too.

That's probably a big part of it for Geto. Yes, Geto tends to naturally slide into the caretaker role, watching out for Gojo and checking in on him but at the same time Geto probably likes that there is someone who needs him in that way. If Gojo's defined by his lack of connection with other people, Geto's defined by the way he goes out to make connections. It's nice to be needed as they say. The fact that someone as seemingly self-sufficient as Gojo not only relies on Geto a great deal, but lets Geto take care of him is probably a big part of their bond.

Which is probably why Gojo's awakening post Toji is a big part in why they started to grow apart from each other. If Geto likes to live in service to other people, and defines himself by his connection to others he probably interpreted Gojo no longer needing his support on missions and suddenly doing everything by himself as Gojo pulling away from him.

I think a big part in Geto's downfall was the hit he took when one he was defeated by Toji someone without Jujutsu and too, Gojo suddenly became out of his reach. Gojo himself never said that they were no longer the strongest duo, or that they were no longer the strongest together it's all Geto. As I said Geto has as much of a god complex as Gojo does.

He thought they were on the top together, and not only is he suddenly confronted with his own weakness at the exact same time Gojo's become so strong it appears on the surface that he no longer needs anyone's support, especially not Geto's.

Nanami says it out loud, but Geto probably echoes the sentiment. If Gojo is now strong enough to handle every mission on his own then what need does he have for other sorcerers - and Geto in particular? Geto goes from feeling needed in a lot of ways by Gojo who was just as important a friend to him as he was to Gojo to watch Gojo suddenly handle everything alone. In a lot of ways it probably felt like Geto lost Gojo far before the KFC breakup and his defection from Jujutsu High. From Geto's perspective their relationship was over, their partnership broken and Gojo just did not realize it until after the village massacre.

At first Geto had as big of an ego with Gojo, and connected in a special way with him because the two of them were on top together. However, he came to believe that the only reason their partnerhsip worked was because they were both the strongest. When Gojo became the strongest alone Geto believed incorrectly that what they once had was lost and Gojo no longer needed him when Gojo's emotional reaction to Geto's defection shows that's anything but true.

In Geto's mind it is though because he's kind of got the same messed up way of dividing people into strong and weak that Gojo does, he probably just realized that he was one of the weak ones and feared Gojo thinking the same way.

During Geto and Gojo's final confrontation he almost has an inferiority complex about it when he talks about how if he had the limitless he'd easily be able to accomplish what he set out to do.

Until that moment Geto always thought they were equals, but now Geto's suddenly talking like he covets Gojo's power. He suddenly wants to be Gojo, probably because he incorrectly believes that their partnership is base don being equals in power when it's really just a normal friendship.

Which is why the loss of Gojo's friendship affects Geto just as badly as the other way around. Everyone wants to be equals with their friends, especially to a friend as important as Gojo was to Geto.

There's almost a tragic irony in how when speaking of his friendship to Nanako and Mimiko, Geto acts like their friendship ended when Gojo left Jujutsu High. It's their in his death scene too, Geto is surprised by the fact that Gojo has any feelings left for him.

Geto's so insecure over his connection to Gojo he didn't understand that in Gojo's mind they were still friends right up until the very end, and perhaps if he were just a bit more secure they would have been able to reach one another instead of falling apart.

[linkspooky]

overhaul with his quirk likely never had to face consequences if he accidentally injured one of his subordinates he could just heal them

Hello, kiddos.

This is the perfect time to explain the new term I just coined called: Narrative Gaslighting.

Narrative Gaslighting is not:

Breaking Show Don't Tell: A story failing to properly demonstrate in story something, usually a narrator tells you about a character, or setting. For example: Telling us Endeavor is on a journey of atonement, but never having him take any action in story to show this.

Retcons: Short for retroactive continuity, an ongoing story, a new story detail revising something in the past often changing or imposing a different interpretation of previous described events. For example, in doctor who the reason why Wilf wasn't at Donna's wedding in "The Runaway Bride" is because he apparently had the Spanish flu. Retcons aren't necessarily bad, because sometimes you get cool new ideas, like Wilfred objectively the best doctor who character.

Plot Holes: An inconsistency in the narrative. These are sloppy storytelling but they're not usually done onpurpose.

An Unreliable Narrator: The classic example of this is the Agatha Christie novel "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" where the narrator / perspective character is the murderer, and hides his role in the murders the whole novel until hercule poirot exposes him. This is a character in the story deliberately misleading the audience, either to conceal a twist, or sometimes unreliable narrator adds to characterization, like a character says something untrue and you're supposed to go "no that's wrong" and it turns out the character is lying to themselves.

Narrative Gaslighting is when a narrative deliberately tries to mislead you, straight up lies, or just insists that that did not happen totally happened guys. Much like real gaslighting it makes you question what you just read. The intent is to just manipulate you into read the story way the author wants you to instead of what's written.

The ask that anonymous sent to me is an example of narrative gaslighting because it's insisting upon something that's blatantly untrue. Overhaul faced consequences, he lost both of his arms and could no longer use his quirk, he was jailed and kept in isolation so long he was reduced to a state where he couldn't do much more than beg for someone to help restore his father figure from his coma. The main character also seeing Overhaul in such a desperate state, instead of agreeing to help wake up Pops who was in a coma (and innocent of the whole affair with Eri mind you, he told Overhaul to stop) instead put a condition that Overhaul is only worthy of human sympathy if he apologizes to Eri first.

Another example of Narrative Gaslighting is the narrative insisting that Deku is someone who "is possessed by a drive to save others that eclipses all common understanding" because his action of not wanting to save Overhaul directly contradicts this, but Horikoshi still wants us to believe Deku is an all-loving hero who's the embodiment of "Heroes who Saves" so he just straight up lies to manipulate us into seeing Deku the way the narrative wants us to, even if it doesn't align with his actions at all.

Here is another example of narrative gaslighting, where a story just insists upon events that are patently untrue to the point where it makes you question what you just read.

No he didn't. No he did not. You're lying. You're a liar.

[linkspooky]

Hey friend, beautiful metas, you are great at this. I would like to hear your opinion on the one who is the second best antagonist in Bleach for me, Yhwach. It's my favorite manga and I would like to hear the opinion of someone who could understand the message of his character and the final arc of TYBW which for me is also the best of the manga.

Yhwach's philosophy about a world without the fear of death has great value in the work for me and one of the things that makes it so interesting is how he somehow contrasts with Aizen in the arc of the arrancars. Both of them were wrong in their ideologies, and only realized it when they achieved exactly what they wanted. Aizen becoming an infinite existence, and Yhwach becoming a stagnant existence.

So, fun fact Ywach is my second favorite Bleach Antagonist now (not counting Ulquiorra because he's just a precious misunderstood little baby) but when I first read TYBW I didn't like him at all. It really took the anime for me to understand how plot important Ywach is to the story. I usually don't like saying this, but if you think Ywach is a badly written antagonist then you really just don't get him.

The thing is everyone says they want to have nuanced villains but it's okay to have antagonists who are just symbolic forces of nature. The true antagonists in Bleach aren't the bad guys, it's the inability of the ensemble casts to overcome their personal issues, or work together as a team. Bleach has really strong character conflict, it really feels like every character who gets screentime is on a journey that's symbolized by the progression of their powers, whether they be quincy, fullbringer, or Shinigami.l

Therefore it is okay for Ywach not to be a character with a backstory as deep and human as Shigaraki, because he's symbolic of the force of FATE that the main characters are fighting against. Which is why the best way to understand Ywach is by comparing him to Aizen, Bleach's best antagonist. More on that under the cut.

The Fraud vs. The Real Deal

So ironically just like the best way to understand Aizen is also by comparing him to Ywach. Everything Aizen tries to be, a force of fate, the controlling force in the narrative, the one who has everyone dancing on the palms of his hands Ywach just naturally is. Aizen tries to become divine through schemes and plots, Ywach was literally born divine. He doesn't need to call himself a god, everyone already calls him a god. The quincy gave him the name "Ywach."

Before we get deeper into their comparisons, I'm going to give an example of just how Aizen is a fraud. The reveal of Misaki's backstory in thousand year blood war really did salvage Aizen's character for me after I started to dislike him towards the end of Arrancar Arc.

There's a fine line to walk with mastermind characters. You have to ask yourself is the character genuinely smart, or is the author just moving things around in the plot and letting the villain have plot armor and plot convenience in order to make them appear smarter than they already are.

Aizen claimed that he'd had everything in the palm of his hand since Ichigo was born, and that was what made me officially call bullshit. Then, the Misaki backstory reveals that Aizen was in fact just bullshitting the entire time.

Aizen didn't actually engineer Ichigo's birth as he claimed. One of his experiments just happened to attack Ichigo's mom, and Aizen decided to stay back and observe the situation. Then he kept monitoring Ichigo to see if he would be useful later. Which is what Aizen does in general, he puts his fingers in a lot of people's pies and then is clever enough to push situations into his favor.

He claims to be an omniscient planner, but he's really just clever and good at improvising when random things like White attacking Ichigo's mother happen so he can turn those situations into his advantage. When Aizen claims "I had everything planned from the beginning" it's just another illusion he's using to try to control you, and characters who buy that are easy to manipulate.

Because Aizen is a fraud. That is literally his zanpakuto, making illusions that control the senses. Everything down to his zanpakuto the literal reflection of his soul is fraudulent. Aizen makes claims at godhood but he doesn't even believe what he's saying.

Aizen yells at Ulquiorra that people shouldn't accept the way the world is, that they should try to be gods if they have the ability to while at the same time Ichigo called him out that his true desire was to be just another soul reaper.

However, in the world of Bleach godhood isn't all it's cracked up to be. The closest thing to a god, the Reio, the lynchpin of the unvierse is a limbless being, sealed in a crystal, that was not only betrayed and backstabbed and brutally massacred by the shinigami who supposedly worshipped them he's also like completely helpless.

He's eternal and all powerful and the very being that holds the world together, and also all he can do is passively observe reality. Destroying the soul king is a mercy because it releases him from his eternal suffering.

This is where we finally reach Ywach, who is what everything Aizen pretended to be. Aizen had to rely on the Hogyoku entirely to give other people power, whereas Ywach naturally can gift the quincy with his power. Aizen wanted to become the soul king he was a mortal who tried to ascend to divinity.

Ywach is heavily implied to be the soul king's literal son. Unlike Aizen he can actually claim to be a divine being, and he's worshipped as one taking the name of the christian god.

Aizen claims to be behind Ichigo's every fight in the manga, while Ywach actually is behind Ichigo's every fight because he's been there all along, pretending to be Ichigo's zanpakuto spirit. Ywach as Zangetsu even admits this, he was limiting Ichigo from his true power while also convincing Ichigo he was an ally because he never wanted Ichigo to become a full fledged sorcerer since he's not only a fragment of Ywach but the embodiment of his quincy powers.

Ywach is responsible for ichigo's desire to protect others, because his decision to terminate all impure quincy killed Ichigo's mother. Ywach has been with Ichigo since birth, since all quincies carry a fragment of Ywach's power in them. When Ywach calls Ichigo his son, he's not bullshitting either, because Old Man Zangetsu the fragment of Ywach inside Ichigo was in a sense a mentor and a father figure to him.

Ywach is a force of nature, in this case he's fate. The same fate that Ichigo wanted to shatter with his sword. Unlike Aizen's claims to be in control he can actually back this up. He controls Ichigo to slay the soul king, and his literal ability "The Almighty" is to rewrite the future to bring whatever future he wants into being. He can peer into every possible future and see millions of possible variations fo the future like grains of sand and then just make the one he wants happen. He literally, creates fate.

However, as I said it's not actually a good thing to be god in Bleach. Ywach because he is divine, can't live in the world with everyone else because of his fear of death. He's terrified of death probably for two reasons, one because he existed in a world without death, he watched his own father get butchered in the worst way possible, and he was basically stillborn. He fears returning to the state he was at birth unable to itneract with the world. A state ironically that was much like his father when he was sealed in the soul palace.

He's also experienced the deaths of every quincy he gave his power to over and over again. So Ywach is the force of fate itself, but just like fate which cannot be controlled, Ywach is an entirely stagnant entity.

The exact opposite of Aizen who was someone who wanted to be just like every other soul reaper. It's why even though Aizen's a fraud, between the two of them Aizen is the ideological victor in the end.

Since Aizen was saved by Ichigo in a way. By giving him the worthy opponent that he always craved, Aizen was knocked back down by the pedestal he always stood on. He became just another soul reaper as he always wanted to be. That's why he was able to believe in humans in the end and give up his notions of becoming a god.

[linkspooky]

Hey! sorry to bother you but after your jjk break down i wanted to know what you think about Shoko and her role in the story. I'm just not sure where to put her narratively.

This is going to be a brief answer, but I believe for her limited screen time she still has an important role in the story and it's the same role she plays in the S / S / S trio. Shoko is the adult, as evidenced here by how she's the only one who undercuts Geto's dramatic monologue to point out how childish he's acting. Unlike Gojo who can't get through to Geto whatsoever, Shoko underlines his problem in one sentence. Geto thinks that he's growing up by finding his purpose in deciding to become an extremist, but Shoko calls him out and says he's actually regressing as a person.

Jujutsu Kaisen is a story about children growing into adulthood, and there's a reason that Shoko is the only person in her class to actually reach adulthood. It's because unlike Gojo and Geto who were eternally trapped in their "springtime of youth" and failed to ever adjust to the trauma they experienced in that youth Shoko grew up.

A character who doesn't grow in a story is as good as dead. Gojo had a character arc, but looking back from beginning to end it almost seems like his death against Sukuna was inevitable because he never learned who he was outside of being the strongest, and he never moved past Geto's death in any real way and tried to make connections with other people.

It's something even Shoko of all people was able to see that Gojo wasn't. That for all of Gojo's claims of being alone, not only did he have Shoko by his side all along, but he also has an entire group of students who he was responsible for who were all relying on him. Gojo could have continued living for them instead of going out in a blaze of glory against Sukuna, but he wasn't able to see all the people in his life until it was too late. He kept on being blind to them because he was trapped in the mindset of his youth that he was too powerful to be understood by anyone and then never grew past that.

Shoko is one of the few teachers left alive at Jujutsu High and that's not a coincidence. Nanami's death is deliberately tragic because he was unable to protect people properly as a sorcerer the system was against him. Shoko's not a fighter on the front lines however, she's a doctor who exists sort of outside that system. Yaga was killed by Gakuganji as well. Haibara died an unfortunate victim in his youth. Geto defected because he was unable to grow up, and Gojo goes out dying against Sukuna in a battle to see who's strongest.

The only teachers who are alive are Kusakabe who's a minor character, Utahime who is the only other adult who shows concern for her students, and Mei Mei. I doubt Mei Mei is going to survive either considering she's the game master (this is just my theory but watch I'm correct).

Which leaves Shoko and Utahime who are both adults, and who also have a much more functional friendship that explicitly parallels Geto and Gojo's. There's a reason Gojo's death dream reverts him back to seventeen years old again, because in a way he didn't grow significantly since that time. Nanami, Gojo, Geto they were all unable to leave the regrets of their youth behind so the last we see them in the imaginary afterlife they are seventeen because that's the time they failed to move past.

Shoko grew up. She and Utahime are the only ones who were able to grow up, and because of that they ended up leaving a lot of their friends behind. I think Megumi and Shoko will parallel each other in the end of Gege decides to stick with his plan of three of the four dieand one lives. Megumi the child that needs to grow up, will be the only one of his friends to reach adulthood just like Shoko.

It will be bittersweet because Megumi won't have his friends with him, but unlike Gojo who was trapped in the past forever, life will go on for Megumi and he'll be able to live with all those losses.

[linkspooky]

Someone has pointed it out before and it's becoming more prevalent now more than ever. Sukuna is really shaping up to be Megumi's own Mahito. Bro has violated him in so many ways - deformed, corrupted and tainted his body and soul that I'm sitting here reading the weekly updates hoping Megumi will finally wake up and yell 'ENOUGH!'. Like, when Megumi finally breaks free I want him to be as crazed as he was (or even more) when he first deployed his domain.

You're right anon, there are a lot of parallels between what Sukuna is doing to Megumi currently, and what Mahito did to Yuji throughout his introduction arc and Shibuya. In fact Megumi's journey right now mirrors wat Yuji already went through in Shibuya, possession of his body, using his body to make him complicit in murder by getting the blood on his hands, then killing off his loved ones to weaken his resolve.

Sukuna is to Megumi what Mahito is to Yuji. They are both curses that represent the opposite of what the heroes represent. Yuji lives to save lives, so Mahito violates life. Megumi lives to save his loved ones and Sukuna rejects the idea of ever loving another person.

Mahito and Sukuna both employ the same strategy to break down the sorcerer they are opposed to, there are several parallels between what Megumi is experiencing right now and what Yuji experienced at the hands of Mahito. The first thing Sukuna did was show Megumi he was too weak to save a friend. In chapter 9 Sukuna rips Yuji's heart out and Megumi isn't able to fight Sukuna enough to force him to fix Yuji. Similiarly, Mahito right in front of Yuji's eyes mutates Junpei and there's nothing Yuji can do to turn him back. Any deal he tries to make is rejected by Sukuna and both of them laugh at him. The two panels even parallel each other in Yuji and Megumi standing in the aftermath of witnessing the deaths.

Mahito also goes out of his way to make Yuji lose his innocence, by proving as the ultimate test of his ideology to save others. Mahito tells Junpei that all life is equally worthless in the same few chapters that Yuji says he doesn't want life to lose it's value.

Yuji wants to give people a natural death, a death that comes at the end of one's life like his grandfather's death, and not the brutal way that victims of curses are killed. Mahito's ability violates life itself by twisting humans into inhumane shapes that mindlessly cry out in agony and lash out at whatever's around them until they die.

Mahito himself also forces Yuji to kill innocent people, because the humans he mutates can't be saved they can only be mercy killed. Something which unnerves both Yuji and even a seasoned professional like Nanami, which Mahito says his soul was shaking in response to seeing what he had done to the humans. If Yuji's philosophy is to save people, and let die natural causes after living long lives Mahito kills people without any reason and gives them unnatural deaths. However, he's not satisfied with just killing Yuji he wants to psychologically break him down he wants to become him.

Mahito acts plotwise as the mirror to Yuji's actions by being his opposite. He's attempting to force self-analysis on Yuji. Yuji doesn't stop to think about killing curses, the same way that Mahito doesn't contemplate killing people.

Mahito has power over Yuji specifically because Yuji does not analyze himself. Part of the reason Mahito and Sukuna in general are able to run rampant over Megumi and Yuji's entire lives is because they are both people who adapt the cog mindset too well.

They act without thinking, and they act for the sake of other people rather than themselves. It's easy to be manipulated, to be blindsided, to be run roughshod over when you are a cog because cogs don't think. The easiest way to get manipulated by others is to not think for yourself after all.

Mahito is essentially trying to get Yuji's ego to break by making him question every philosophy he fights for. His strategy is to violate that same philosophy in front of Yuji's eyes while he's helpless, again and again. Sukuna even helps him in Shibuya.

Sukuna takes away from Yuji the idea that he can die and save others by taking Sukuna with him, by forcing him to become the sole survivor of a massacre. Even if he's executed and Sukuna vanishes permanently he's not going to reduce the total number of deaths in the world because now thousands of people have died because Yuji let Sukuna out in Shibuya.

Sukuna's first move to break megumi when he has control of his body is the exact same play, to convince Megumi that he is a murderer by using ten shadows his own technique to destroy Tsumiki's body. Mahito also as mentioned earlier made this play early on to make Yuji feel like a murderer by having to kill the mutated humans that were just innocent people.

Megumi and Yuji are made to feel like murderers by Sukuna and Mahito respectively, they're also made to kill the people they wanted to save. Yuji's desire is to save everyone so he's forced to mercy kill innocent people, and Megumi's desire is to save his sister so Sukuna's literal first action is to bury Tsumiki as deep as possible.

He's not just taking away Megumi's sister, but also his reason for living and being a sorcerer. The same way that Mahito is trying to show Yuji that his philosophy of saving people is wrong and worthless, Sukuna shows Megumi that everything he did to protect his sister amounted to nothing in th eend. Megumi and Yuji both value life and Sukuna and Mahito violate and trample all over that life.

Flowers = purity and innocence, and Mahito and Sukuna both exist to defile those things, trampling and tearing apart those flowers.

The next action Mahito takes is to kill Yuji's mentor right in front of him. Which is what we just witnessed Sukuna did to Gojo, in Megumi's body. Nanami and Gojo even die in the same way, still standing as their torsos are separated from their lower halves.

Mahito's actions didn't stop with Nanami though, as Yuji when he was about to break from the pressure of Sukuna's massacre in Shibuya received support from Nobara arriving on time to remind him he's not alone.

Only for Mahito to kill Nobara right in front of him a moment later due to a small slip up during the fight. Nobara's unceremonious death and being made to fight alone again breaks Yuji's resolve almost completely until he believes what Mahito has been trying to convince him of, that all of his ideals are wrong, that they're just excuses, that he's completely helpless and can't fight back.

Now, there's a couple of parallels, the murder of Nobara could both parallel the attempted murder of Hana and Angel someone who gave Megumi and the audience a brief hope spot that she'd be able to exorcise sukuna from him only for that hope to be ripped away in the goriest fashion possible.

Or it could be Tsumiki's death which was the breaking point for Megumi at which point he stopped fighting back even curling up in the fetal position like Yuji. It could even be Sukuna immediately awakening to punch Yuji through a building. Either way, Sukuna's strategy mirrors Mahito's here, it's to number one isolate Megumi and convince him he's alone, and two by victimizing all of his friends in front of him he shows Megumi he's helpless to stop him and convinces him not to fight back.

Either way Mahito violates the idea Yuji can save anyone even his friends by killing Nobara in a fight that they are both fighting in, right in front of his eyes, convincing him that his philosophy for helping others was an excuse and he never had the strength to save others to begin with.

The same way Sukuna violates love, he makes a joke of pretending to be Megumi again so Hana will embrace him, only to eat her when she drops her guard. He talks about destroying Tsumiki Fushiguro while she's drawn naked on panel and there are flowers representing purity torn up in the background. Megumi's sister is possessed by Yorozu, a woman who is fanatically in love with Sukuna and the two of them make a twisted mockery of the love between siblings in the bodies of the two siblings they're possessing.

Mahito twists the value and sanctity of life to insist that all life is worth nothing, because Yuji his foil is the one who fights to save as many people as possible without thinking about it. Sukuna rejects love and other people in his life because Megumi is only fighting for the sake of the people he loves.

They even use strategies from the same playbook, forcing their victims to kill, then the killing of a mentor, a friend right in front of them until they've convinced their victims they're helpless and alone.

Mahito insists that he and Yuji are the same. Sukuna's goal too in a way is to become Megumi, by completely dominating his body so he can reincarnate in this era. Mahito wants to kill Yuji, and Sukuna wants to make Megumi experience an ego-death, bury him so deep within his consciousness that he'll never stop fighting back.

Mahito is sucesful in a way because even if Yuji managed to kill Mahito, he became like him. Mahito wanted to covince Yuji that life was meaningless, that he didn't need ideals to strive for and all his ideals were excuses and to get out of a tough situation Yuji decided to just embrace that cog mentality. Mahito convinced Yuji to just keep mindlessly killing curses without looking for a purpose beyond that.

However, that's not a true victory over Mahito because once again that's what Mahito wanted Yuji to think. Mahito was trying to drag Yuji down to his level and convince him he was no better than a curse. Yuji and Megumi are weak to Mahito and Sukuna's manipulations because they embrace the cog-like mindset and don't try to take control of their own lives.

Yuji is currently, still mindlessly exorcising curses while Megumi at the moment is also in a mindless cog like state where he is being used by someone else. Neither of them have broken free from being cogs and become fully self-actualized individuals in control of their own actions, especially in Megumi's case because he's being possessed by Satan.

The only way for them both to fight back will be to take control of their own lives, and define who they are, outside of what Mahito and Sukuna insist that they are. Megumi has to take back his own body at this point because it's the climax of a long arc of never really being in control of his own life or allowed to make his own decisions.

Since Megumi is currently sunk to the deepest part of his shadow, I imagine it will be almost exactly like the first time we see him use his domain. "Bring forth the deepest shadows..."

A future Megumi who has surpassed his own limits. A Megumi who gets to decide what he wants to be, outside of what Gojo wants, or what Sukuna is using him for.

That requires both for Megumi to assert himself, and for Yuji to help him. I've posted this panel a hundred times but Megumi says "Start by saving me..." to rescue Yuji from despair post Shibuya and get him moving again. However, if you think about it Jujutsu Society would say that Megumi needs to be killed for the greater good, and everyone including Gojo has Megumi's rescue from Sukuna as a second priority.

Yuji's act of saving Megumi would also be him asserting his will and throwing off the cog mentality, because he'd be going against Jujutsu Society and deciding for himself who he wants to save.

Megumi and Yuji have had their philosophies tested and completely deconstructed by Sukuna and Mahito respectively, but this isn't the end, but it's up to the boys to reconstruct them. Remember Mahito and Sukuna aren't really enlightened or wise. They're trying to convince Megumi and Yuji of these things to convince them they're helpless so they'll stop fighting back and be easier to dominate. It's up to Yuji and Megumi. To show them both that they're not helpless as Sukuna and Mahito would want them to believe and they can fight back.